1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for symbol processing by a computing device, in particular a hand-held computing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The integration of services into computer devices, including hand-held devices such as personal digital assistants, often involves an increased cost of time to the user to adapt to a new man-machine interface. The man-machine interface aspect of the data entry mechanisms is crucial to decreasing the learning curve time customers need to fully utilize the device for performing its various functions in order to decrease customer frustration. The ease of manipulation of data entry mechanisms enhances the overall device experience.
It is desirable to strike an appropriate balance between burdening the user with a bulkier device on the one hand with dedicated data entry mechanisms as part of the physical interface and on the other hand, providing a more limited man-machine interface requiring the user to have to learn more data entry techniques or to consume more time for data entry.
One example of how a limited man-machine interface can be time consuming occurs when a user desires to enter a character that is not located as part of the physical interface such as a keyboard or an initial view of a display presented to a user for entering text. For example, in trying to find an accented “ê” version of the letter “e”, typically the user must go to a separate display of a table of all accented characters and search through one or more displays of accented characters carefully so as not to miss the one for which he is looking. Otherwise, the user can memorize special key sequences. A more pleasant and robust text entry experience that gives the user easy access to a wide range of symbols is highly desirable. The man-machine interface impacts the acceptability of the device to users because it impacts the extent of services provided, the effective use of the services, and the overall reliability of the device.